The Application of Psychotherapy in the Nigerian Armed Forces

The military personnel whose duty is to undertake operational duties are often exposed to trauma and stress; and some develop psychological distress as a result. The burden of mental health distress related to military occupational life is substantial as some military personnel and families flourish while others are not able to cope. Overtime, deployed military personnel and families become psychologically dysfunctional as a result of trauma and acute stress syndrome which result to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and emotional burn-out. Although, little attempt has been made to assess and meet the mental health needs of the military community holistically. This negligence is costly considering that the psychological health of the military family has been found to be directly related to the readiness, well-being and retention of service members. More so, the impact of negative attachment reactions on the cognitive development of children as a result of separations related to military deployment and postings have been observed. But at the moment, the government and NGO’s have focused mainly on the physical welfare needs of the wounded military personnel only, while the mental wellbeing of their families who are victims of counter-insurgency operations have been overlooked. The study therefore examined the application of psychotherapy in the Nigerian Armed Forces. The researchers also discussed common psychotherapeutic techniques relevant to the treatment of military personnel and families with the need to adopt a preventive approach to mental health promotion.

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This study examines the efficacy (effectiveness) of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT) in the management of stress in military personnel. Forty Five (45) out of Sixty (60)
military personnel drawn from Army, Navy, and Air Force who obtained high scores on SCL-
90 and MSI were randomly placed into experimental, placebo, and control groups consisting
of 15 participants each. The pretreatment scores of the three groups were taken. The
experimental group received 10 REBT sessions, the placebo group had 10 sessions but only
discussed professionalization in the Nigerian military. The control group received no
treatment. The results showed that pos-treatment scores of the experimental group were
lower than their pretreatment scores as that of the placebo and control groups. Using
ANOVA to determine the significant difference in the three groups, it was found that the
experimental group showed significant differences in all 11 measures. The results were
discussed in terms of the efficacy of REBT in the management of stress in military personnel.

Abstract

Multicultural advocates within professional psychology routinely call for “culturally
competent” counseling interventions. Such advocates frequently cite and celebrate
traditional healing practices as an important resource for developing novel integrative forms
of psychotherapy that are distinctively tailored for diverse populations. Despite this interest,
substantive descriptions of specific forms of traditional healing vis-à-vis psychotherapy have
appeared infrequently in the psychology literature. This article explores the prospects for
therapeutic integration between traditional healing and contemporary psychotherapy. There
is a growing trend to seek alternative, complementary and traditional healing not only as a
reaction to Western biomedicine but also to the mindset of ‘‘talking heads’’ in
psychotherapy. Traditional healing aims to restore harmony and balance within the
individual through a symbiosis of the body, mind and spirit. Through this process traditional
healing offers a holistic conceptualization of wellness and wellbeing, both within the
individual, and between the individual and his or her environment. Comparative studies on
alternative healing practices indicate that many patients/clients often see a mental health
professional and a traditional healer concurrently. This paper considers the use of
traditional healing alongside Western counselling psychology as a process of dual
interventions for clients who engage traditional healing practices alongside psychotherapy.

This paper examines trajectory of psychotherapy in Africa. It touches on the meaning of psychotherapy, types, as well as goals and relevance of psychotherapy. The key factors is with greater emphasis in psychotherapy where in Africa certain set-backs and challenges have been heavily represented with terrorism leading to posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) from kidnapping down to Boko-Harram and Fulani herdsmen violence that undermine security and national development. Sequel to this, economic recession and anxiety of the mass is another cancerous triggered to corruption which clinicians identify today as a major set-back in African socioeconomic and political development. Other issues facing the clinicians and students of psychotherapy with the service users are lack of keeping clinical records for data purposes, problems of referrals, poor accessibility to clinical resources and team relationships. The objective of this paper is to discuss in-depths these African issues and a way of advancing psychotherapy in Africa to a lofty heights. Proffering solutions could be identify through extensive training, entrepreneurship model, and also using continuation of professional development (CPD) to generate learning from the existing challenges in Africa through conferences, seminars and workshops. Unfortunately some clinicians in the society lack the zeal of pursuing CPD model of knowledge and experience as they find it difficult not only to engage with others but to come together and work as a team. Training is always a major reflection in working relationship in group practice to make relevance the dynamism required of psychotherapy. Importantly, using working groups formula (WDEP) that is focused in African way on client centred approach will serve as another panacea aimed at understanding clients (patients) in the group processes, while taken cognisance people’s real life situations, to guard against some risks that may jeopardize group in psychotherapy. It is therefore recommended that those practising psychotherapy in African setting should bear in mind the relevance of clinical practice as evidence based and good quality of care in the art of psychotherapy.

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Research into the myriad of factors that could promote mental well-being of young adults in
the institution of higher learning would continue unabated as long as the subject matter,
Risky behaviour remains potent to psychologists, mental health workers, and other
significant care givers. This study evaluated the efficacy of psychotherapy and rehabilitation
program in reducing behavioural disorders and risky lifestyle of Babcock University students
returning from one year behavioural sanction. Eighty-Seven students (71.26% male and
28.78% female) suspended for various violation/misconduct were asked to sign a behavioural
contract with the consent of their parent/guardians and consequently, completed the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 structured form (MMPI-2).About 75% of the
students reported high T-score on emotional Internalizing Dysfunction EID, Thought
Dysfunction THD, and Behavioural/External Dysfunction BXD. The students were assigned
to two session psychotherapeutic treatment per week and three hours weekly group emotional
competent training. At the end of the academic semester post-intervention, significant
reduction on all measures as well as reduction in risky behaviour and high emotional
intelligent were observed among the students. Overall, psychosocial support was found for
the efficacy of the program. It is thus recommended that those working on young adults with
behavioural disorders should seriously consider redemptive approach that is, psychotherapy,
emotional fitness training and socio-spiritual reintegration.